National Museum of Scotland

This was our second day in Edinburgh.  We started the day together, taking the train into the city, and eating lunch together at a questionable pub, where Mr J adventurously tried haggis and loved it!

After lunch, while others in our group went off to experience one of the underground tours that Edinburgh is famous for, we walked with the kids and Grammy to the Grassmarket, where we enjoyed a different view of the castle and found a memorial to the Covenanters who were executed here during the seventeenth century.

As a light rain started to fall, we made our way to Greyfriars Kirk. We had a tour of the kirk, and walked around the churchyard.

The rain was cold and we were uncomfortably chilly by the time we arrived at the National Museum of Scotland, just a few steps away from Greyfriars.  Located in a huge Victorian-era building [similar in style and architecture to Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery], the museum is full of both static and interactive exhibits.  We only had a couple of hours, so limited ourselves to viewing just a few.

The kids each had a turn "test-driving" a Formula One car.

We walked through part of Kingdom of the Scots, a gallery devoted to exploring Scotland's history.  There was a fun discovery zone here where Coo dressed up, and all four kids took turns firing a mini catapult.

Finally it was time to meet up with the others and do a bit of quick last minute shopping.  Below, some of our guys running through the rain to the coffee house where the rest of us were waiting, nice and cosy.

Goodbye, Edinburgh, for now.

“This was a townscape raised in the teeth of cold winds from the east; a city of winding cobbled streets and haughty pillars; a city of dark nights and candlelight, and intellect.” 

-Alexander McCall Smith